Observation/Reflection #4 - What Was the Question?
This week, try to pay attention to how your teacher asks questions and facilitates discussion in his or her classes. What types of questions does your CT ask? Are most of the questions asking students to relay facts or textbook definitions (recall) or to apply a concept to a new situation or compare it to another concept (application or analysis). Does your teacher ever encourage his or her students to be critical or skeptical? If so, when and how? Does your CT ever ask students to provide evidence to support a claim or explain their thinking? Does your teacher facilitate classroom discussion so that students are expressing scientific ideas to other students? Finally, does your CT vary the type of questions he or she asks depending on the level of the class, or the perceived ability of the student? Remember to reflect on what types of classroom discourse you want to foster in your classroom, how you will go about doing this, and why.
Observation: Today Lynne told me that she wanted me to watch her teach for the first period and that I would teach the following class. The first class started out with Lynne asking her students to record the homework for the night that is posted onto the board. Then she asked the class to take out their worksheets for class discussion. She then moves to the side of the classroom and holds up various aquatic plants and asks the students what they are. For each one, she asks a series of questions that the students can find in their worksheet reading that was supposed to be completed for homework. She then handed out the webs that are associated with the worksheet and a completed example of what the students were to hand in for their homework. She asked questions such as: what is the downfall of too much algae growing in a pond? Why is too much oxygen consumption by aquatic plants bad for the other living animals in the pond? What is an example of a cause for too much algal or plant growth in a pond? Can anyone think of an example? Does anyone live near a golf course for example? Questions like these do not exemplify "by the book" type of recall of information, or recitation of definition. The questions ask the implications and the asssociations of the information they read for homework. It seems Lyyne is covering the "who, what, where, when, why" method seen in english classes in the past to break down the important facts of the topic. Lynne incorperates vocabulary into the questions she asks, and uses the vocabulary in the answers and discussion.
Reflection: The class discussion started by Lynne utilized the real aquatic examples that were brought in the classroom. By lifting up the actual plant, students can then actually see what thety were reading about and connect the information literally to a visual connection. The questions that then follow are connected to this visual aid. Vocabulary is then implemented into this display and certain questions require students to search for the information in their reading. By waiting to call on certain students whose hands immediately appear in the air, it allows other students to search for the answer longer instead of looking up and giving up when they hear the correct answer. The implementation of the information to real life examples and into environmental concerns also prepares the students for a future unit on environmental impacts. Utilizing interesting "hooks" to grab the attention of the students allows them to connect what they are learning visually and interestingly to the information that they read for homework and is most likely making not a lot of sense. I would try to incorperate as many multiple intelligences as possible when reviewing homework reading to ensure that the students retrieve information in different ways.
Observation/Reflection #4 - What Was the Question?
This week, try to pay attention to how your teacher asks questions and facilitates discussion in his or her classes. What types of questions does your CT ask? Are most of the questions asking students to relay facts or textbook definitions (recall) or to apply a concept to a new situation or compare it to another concept (application or analysis). Does your teacher ever encourage his or her students to be critical or skeptical? If so, when and how? Does your CT ever ask students to provide evidence to support a claim or explain their thinking? Does your teacher facilitate classroom discussion so that students are expressing scientific ideas to other students? Finally, does your CT vary the type of questions he or she asks depending on the level of the class, or the perceived ability of the student? Remember to reflect on what types of classroom discourse you want to foster in your classroom, how you will go about doing this, and why.Observation: Today Lynne told me that she wanted me to watch her teach for the first period and that I would teach the following class. The first class started out with Lynne asking her students to record the homework for the night that is posted onto the board. Then she asked the class to take out their worksheets for class discussion. She then moves to the side of the classroom and holds up various aquatic plants and asks the students what they are. For each one, she asks a series of questions that the students can find in their worksheet reading that was supposed to be completed for homework. She then handed out the webs that are associated with the worksheet and a completed example of what the students were to hand in for their homework. She asked questions such as: what is the downfall of too much algae growing in a pond? Why is too much oxygen consumption by aquatic plants bad for the other living animals in the pond? What is an example of a cause for too much algal or plant growth in a pond? Can anyone think of an example? Does anyone live near a golf course for example? Questions like these do not exemplify "by the book" type of recall of information, or recitation of definition. The questions ask the implications and the asssociations of the information they read for homework. It seems Lyyne is covering the "who, what, where, when, why" method seen in english classes in the past to break down the important facts of the topic. Lynne incorperates vocabulary into the questions she asks, and uses the vocabulary in the answers and discussion.
Reflection: The class discussion started by Lynne utilized the real aquatic examples that were brought in the classroom. By lifting up the actual plant, students can then actually see what thety were reading about and connect the information literally to a visual connection. The questions that then follow are connected to this visual aid. Vocabulary is then implemented into this display and certain questions require students to search for the information in their reading. By waiting to call on certain students whose hands immediately appear in the air, it allows other students to search for the answer longer instead of looking up and giving up when they hear the correct answer. The implementation of the information to real life examples and into environmental concerns also prepares the students for a future unit on environmental impacts. Utilizing interesting "hooks" to grab the attention of the students allows them to connect what they are learning visually and interestingly to the information that they read for homework and is most likely making not a lot of sense. I would try to incorperate as many multiple intelligences as possible when reviewing homework reading to ensure that the students retrieve information in different ways.